PROJECT: Uncle Julio’s Loyalty Program: Amigo Especial
SITUATION
Uncle Julio’s, a Mexican polished casual dining restaurant group based out of Dallas, TX, wanted to develop a program to reward their loyal guests. Their guests, however, aren’t the typical casual diner. They care more about high quality, made from scratch food, personal service, and an inviting atmosphere than most. They have higher than average incomes, but they aren’t super affluent, they are less price sensitive and more quality conscious. We like to call them “luxury lite.”
SOLUTION
We created a program that is quite differentiated and highly desirable to Uncle Julio’s guests. Their guests are generous to the brand, in that they choose to spend their time and money with Uncle Julio’s, so we wanted to reciprocate that generosity. We helped Uncle Julio’s shape the tiered points system, in which guests earn a point for every dollar spent. It starts with a complementary table-side guacamole just for signing up. At 250 points guests get $25 credit and another $25 credit on their birthday. At 500 points, we give guests something highly coveted and shows that we really understand what’s important to them, priority seating for every visit. And, when there’s a long wait on a Friday or Saturday night, it makes them feel like rock stars.
We designed the creative for the Paytronix app, aligning with the “made from scratch” brand platform and assisted with in-store merchandising.
SUCCESS
Uncle Julio’s Loyalty Program has been utilized by more than 15% of their guest base. This far exceeds (by 3x) the penetration rate seen by most other restaurants which is in the 5 – 7% range.
